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An interesting chassis announced recently by Tamiya: the Lunch Box Mini on the SW-01 chassis. The link is Tamiyablog's; the chassis was also mentioned earlier on this site by TC's Mokei Kagaku, and on his Facebook page.
From Tamiyablog:
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Suggested retail price in Japan: approx. ¥ 10600
Expected release date in Japan: July 2019
★ Condensed various mechanisms in a compact new design chassis that fits in both hands of adults
★ Uses an upper arm that works in conjunction with the steering wheel. Reduce the roll of the body at the time of cornering, reduce the fall.
★ The chassis is a gear drive 4WD that transmits the power of the motor located in the center to the front and rear wheels with a gear.
★ The body reproduces the popular Lunch Box in polycarbonate. Adoption of magnet type one-touch body mount makes it easy to attach and remove the body.
★ It can run with four AA batteries.
★ Upgrade to the 4WS (four-wheel steering) specification is possible simply by installing the “Upper Connect Bar (provisional name)” scheduled to be released as an optional part.
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As part of the "Star Unit" line, it is likely going to be quite a basic chassis, yet the technical details and the involvement of some sort of Lunch Box might make it intriguing...

Hey all,
I've enjoyed reading the many threads in the forum.
This body has a copyright 1987 and an arrow pointing to PS (styrene), not ABS. I'd like some advise as to what to do with this body. On the outer shell, it appears that there is that "chrome" top paint that's sold that isn't chrome at all. And some really rough, to the touch, green paint on the inside. It looks like marking paint to me.
I did some wet sanding on the outer shell and it's very smooth. My thoughts are to get the outer shell wet sanded smooth a bit more, not touch the inside, and prime it inside and out for painting.
I've read about Easy-off and other chemicals. I'd hate to ruin this thing.
Thanks for the input.

Always wanted a Lunch Box when I was younger, and I finally got one. For being my cheapest kit... I've seemed to have spent the most on it. Crazy thing is that I'm contemplating getting another one later on!
Anyway here it is. Still deciding what decals, extra paint work I want to do to the body, but this is pretty much it.
As it stands right now
With lights on!
FX10 Mod
Uncompressed....
Compressed...
Used a suspension arm piece from a WT-01N kit to mount the bottom of the shock. (I bought the longer WT-01 arms so I didn't use these)
Electronics
Hobbywing Justock XR10 ESC, Speed Passion v3 13.5T Brushless, Sanwa RX-371W Receiver, Savox 254mg steering servo, Generic lighting kit
Chassis Stiffening
Upper shock tower brace
Rear deck brace
Lower rear shock brace
Forgot to add that it's also got a full ball bearing kit.

Has anyone tried comparing the Lunchbox 3rd Shock versus the Ampro Transmission Brace? I'm trying to decide which is the better option.
The Ampro Transmission Brace is 3D printed through Shapeways, and can be seen here: http://shpws.me/MVjN
I'm considering the Ampro brace because it's cheaper and requires less modification. The creators also say it works better. My concern is that 3D printed materials are typically weaker than other plastics. Related to that, there's actually a free version I could print on our Makerbot, available through Thingiverse, but I'm pretty certain that the Makerbot prints are weaker than Shapeways, which have a much higher melting temperature.
By the way, this is my first Lunchbox. I built it just a few weeks ago and love it. So far I've only done basic mods / hop-ups, like the bearings and adjusting the front suspension to level out the wheels. I'm still using the standard friction shocks.

So I finally got round to installing the sports tuned motor in my lunchbox which works fine but now with the extra power I have has made the tyres start spinning, so should I glue them in place? If so any specific glue for this, how much to use etc. I’ve read that the small holes in the wheels are for putting the glue in, is this correct. Any help or tips appreciated on this, thanks.

I've got a standard ESC (TEU105BK) and a standard motor (RC-540) in my Lunchbox. I was thinking of giving it a little more speed by getting the Sport tuned RS-540 motor. I don't want to spend too much and go brushless and go too fast that it becomes undriveable, I just want a big more speed without breaking the bank. My question is would the standard ESC be ok to run the sport tuned motor? and if I up the speed should I be upgrading anything else on the car. I have added hight quality ball bearing when I built it. I'm new to RC so not very clued up with compatibility of motors and ESC's! Any help greatly appreciated. If there is an alternative motor to the sport tuned RS-540 that doesn't need a new ESC please let me know. Thanks

Took my lunchbox out in the garden tonight for its first run. Although I scuffed the paint job already! Grrr I noticed that when it went from a standing start to full throttle the gears sounded like they were grinding or not engaging correctly. Sounds ok once it’s moving and seems to drive fine, it’s just the initial full throttle burst at the beginning that doesn’t sound right. It doesn’t make this sound if I go full throttle with the wheels off the ground, only when they are on the ground. No issues in reverse. Should I strip down the gear box and see if there is anything odd before I do any major damage? If so what should I be looking for? Just a thought, could this be due to too much grease on the gears? I’m a newbie so any help greatly appreciated. I’ve watched vids on YouTube of people’s lunchbox going from a standing start to full throttle and I don’t hear what I’m hearing. Bit disappointed that I’ve hit issues already as I’ve been looking forward to having some fun with it since I got it for Xmas and it looks like it’s gonna be back in the garage for a service already!

Hey folks, I have been doing some work on my CW01's lately, trying to ignore my hatred of Project Hor-Cha-Hop. I made some Midnight Pumpkin body mounts and a brace for the transmission to stop the irritating slap of the trans under torquing. My current design has to do with my double wishbone front end upgrade on the Hornet. I am working on an updated version akin to a Grasshopper II where the shock is sunk deep into the arm. This will allow you to use a 50mm touring car shock. However, this "sunken" shock mount setup will not work on a CW01, nor will it work if you want to keep the friction shocks on a Hornet/Hopper. So I made one that leverages the Tamiya steel spring mount. Tested on the Hornet and it is perfect. I installed in on the CW01 and there was an unexpected change; wheel track. The front of the CW01 is now 15-20mm wider than stock. Now this is very desirable if you want to run and jump the CW01's hard, it makes them much more stable. If I shorten the arm by 10mm, it will do a few bad things.
1. The upright will come closer to the shock mount and hit the shock. This will require moving the shock more inboard.
2. The shock needs to move inboard. Ignoring the above issue, narrowing the track will result in forcing the shock to move proportionally to the shortening. this now reduces the lever arm on the suspension arm reducing travel of the shock (not the wheel) and also inadvertantly raising the front end.
I think I am correct in beleiving that widening the front end is a better route since anyone that would install this (like me on my race truck) wants more stability. Plus, the drawbacks to narrowing the front end are seriously bad. Love to hear some input. Here is where the testing is (had to borrow SuperFly's upright):
The widened track from the front
From above (sorry, black floor)
Also, the upper link will mount to a part that will be wedged by the servo with no screws. This means that this mod will require zero holes or alterations to your CW01. I hate drilling and cutting on stuff I paid for.
The MP Mounts are working great on a side note. I change the direction of the pin holes on t he front mounts and made a nice base for the rear body to sit on. Fits perfect on stock body with no mods needed.
The trans brace has made the trucks so much less annoying too. Simple little part and easy to install. 2 holes, sorry.
There are also Wheelie bar wheels and Lunchbox body mounts that come in all the shapeways colors. I think that's all for now.
All that stuff is in the store under CW01 or MP/LB depending on how specific it is.
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/ampro

Hi all,
I would like my *lexan* Luncbox shell to be the same shade of yellow as the ABS plastic one. However, as far as I can tell, the shade of yellow that Tamiya uses for the ABS plastic is not available for lexan (from Tamiya).
The Tamiya shades of yellow I've tried (camel, basic) were very disappointing. Camel is way too orange, and basic yellow is far too bright.
Does anyone know of a lexan yellow that comes close to the Lunchbox yellow? From any manufacturer?
Thanks!

Got an awesome deal on a new kit with damaged box ($57). Had to pick it up for my son.
I've got my own Lunchbox with a bunch of suspension and chassis mods running 13.5T brushless power. For his, I'm keeping everything bone stock for now as far as performance mods go.
This is one of the 3 projects that was holding me up from other builds because of the lack of time to work on the body. (Still not actually done, few more decals to print up)

Hi All
So I wanted to get the ampro device but its too much for postage, and my LB is a basher just enjoy bouncing around the parks etc etc
I do how ever want to sort the handling out a bit without spending loads, so I was thinking about doing a bit of surgery and fitting a large cable tie with enough slack to keep articulation but stop the gearbox slapping.
Would put this in the same place as the ampro thing, will post up some pics later.

My Vintage lunchbox Restomod for sale on the Bay. Based on original 1988 kit. Purchased the vintage kit in a pretty sorry state. Completely stripped down and rebuilt with Full bearings, New 10t pinion, New 27t HPI brushed motor, New tyres (original wheels), New Absima aluminium body oil damped shocks, modified to work properly with the Lunchbox and upgraded Tamiya red seals. AMPRO Engineering transmission stabiliser (works better than 5th shock modification) so no transmission slap under acceleration. Brand new Mtroniks ESC. Aluminium body mount kit (essential to prevent constantly breaking the plastic versions when you inevitably roll it!) Body is the original that came when I bought it. It's battered and the front window is slightly cracked but it is straight and fits well. It's never been painted so might be ripe for refurbishment? Chassis plastics are all original. Includes original vintage ACOMS AS-7 steering servo. It runs brilliantly and is enormous fun. Wheelies and bouncy skids. Who doesn't like that? Always wanted one as a kid and it's been brilliant to realise that dream. However, I have another vintage buggy and a modern buggy too and it's just not getting the use it deserves. There are other models I wanted back then too which selling this will fund. It doesn't include a receiver or batteries.
Make me an offer if you're interested. Spent over £120 on it so would ideally like to see a lot of that back.
Cheers!
Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263009786857

Hi all!
When I was young and got my first RC car, I had to choose between the lunchbox and neo fighter.. i choose the lunchbox and had a blast untill the esc cought on fire and stopped working. After a couple of years I threw the car and controller after hearing it was not repairable. Needless to say I have regretted that for many years :(.
But today I received BOTH kits (rereleases). I couldn't stand the emptyness any more.
I also bought bearing kits for both cars.
What else do I need? I am about to order some paint tonight or tomorrow so I thought I'd just ask if there are any other items I will most certainly need when building the kits. Grease? Glue?
I also need to buy servos and batteries.. haven't decided if I should go brushed or brushless yet.. i don't need the cars to go faster is is there any other benefits or should I just stay brushed?
Thanks for your time!

Picked up a vintage lunchbox on eBay a few weeks ago. Fixed it up but steering is all over the place. Knowing what a difference Kimborough servo savers made on my other cars I want to get a replacement. Before I do though does anyone have any advice on whether to get something high torque or bigger than the tamiya item? Or should I just get a Kimborough 114 and have done with it?
Cheers!

I thought I would share my Lunchbox W.I.P..
The chassis is box stock, so no need to show that, but the paint is something different.
I had a problem with the green not taking properly, so need to sort that, but she's curing for a few days 1st, still one more colour to go on it yet too.

Hi there
Firstly apologies for asking a question which has probably been asked loads of times but after having read posts, reviews and watched stuff on eBay I am still at a bit of a loss.
I have a 25+ year old monster beetle and lunchbox which I have got back in running order for my son with the addition of a couple of new ESCs tble02s's to replace the old mechanical ones and a couple of new batteries (3300 nimh) He has got good use of the cars over the last year but the motors which are also 25+ years old (an old stock silver can and a sport tuned) are running a bit hot now and are a bit temperamental.
To make things a bit safer for him to use them on his own and prolong the battery life/ run time a bit I was looking to go brushless on the cars but I don't want anything too insane as I will only spend more time fixing them than he does running them, although to be fair I do enjoy tinkering with them.
My question therefore is what do you recommend, I would like something as fast as a sport tuned or a little faster but don't know whether I am better going for one of the tamiya motors since I already have the ESCs or go with one of the cheaper motor ESC combos such as the leopard 3930kv or similar.
With the non tamiya motors is there anything you need to look out for, do they fit the same to the motor mounts on the cars or do you need adapters etc? Do the pin ions fit?
Lastly is there a way of taming the motors down a bit so that initially they are a bit slower for my son but as he progresses I can dial the up a bit. Is this possible via the programming card? Is this what the motor timing option is on the set up?
Thanks for your patience
Mark

Hey guys - has anyone tried mounting a Lunchbox body on a GF-01 chassis (like the Heavy Dump)? My son loves the Lunchbox, but I want him to have something 4wd so it will be able to drive decently well in the grassy part near our house. It would probably take some custom solutions to get the body mounts to work, or maybe just go up through the top (obviously using a re-re body!) using extended versions of how I think the GF-01 bodies are meant to be mounted.
Anyone tried it? Is it a bad / crazy idea?
I may just build him a Heavy Dump as-is... but I think he'd get more of a kick out of a Lunchbox, but one that doesn't get stuck in wet grass.